China Telecom slashes iPhone 5s prices

China Telecom (CHA.NYSE, 0728.HKG) cut contract prices for Apple’s (AAPL.NASDAQ) iPhone 5s by roughly 15% in the lead up to China Mobile’s (CHL.NYSE, 0941.HKG) iPhone release next week, Bloomberg reported. China Telecom is offering a combination of price reductions and gift packages that together amount to RMB800 (US$132) off the list price of RMB5,288 for a 16 gigabyte iPhone 5s, according to promotional material at the carrier’s Beijing retail locations on Tuesday. China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier by user volume, will begin selling the devices in stores on Jan 17, but has yet to release pricing details.